METHODS: The authors report the case of a 2-year-old girl admitted to a tertiary pediatric center for repeated episodes of fever with aphthous stomatitis and laterocervical adenopathy.
RESULTS: The child\'s case history raised the suspicion of MS, which was subsequently confirmed by exclusion of all the other differential diagnoses (recurrent tonsillitis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, Behçet\'s disease, cyclic neutropenia, hyperglobulinemia D syndrome). After the 3 febrile episodes, bilateral tonsillectomy was performed based on the parents\' consent, with favorable immediate and remote postoperative clinical outcomes. The diagnosis of MS is one based on exclusion, as laboratory data is nonspecific. We took into consideration other causes of recurrent fever (recurrent tonsillitis, infectious diseases, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, Behçet\'s disease, cyclic neutropenia, Familial Mediterranean fever syndrome, hyperglobulinemia D syndrome). In our case, MS criteria were met through clinical examination and the child\'s outcome. Subsequently, laboratory data helped us establish the MS diagnosis.
CONCLUSIONS: Pediatricians should consider the MS diagnosis in the context of recurrent fever episodes associated with at least one of the following symptoms: pharyngitis, cervical adenopathy or aphthous stomatitis. Despite the indication for tonsillectomy in young children being controversial, in this case the surgery led to the total remission of the disease.